The purpose of assessment is determined by how the information will be used, who will use it, what outcomes are to be assessed, and what kind of questions are being asked.
 

Use of assessment:

Formative evaluation improves program performance by influencing immediate decisions about the program, especially how its component parts and processes could be improved.  Data collected for formative purposes are seldom reported to anyone but those who have responsibility for implementing and improving the program.  New curricula go through periods of development in which formative evaluation is necessary before the expected effects can be observed.

Summative evaluations judge program worth by assessing program effects in light of relevant problems.  The worth of a new curriculum can be judged by comparing its effects with those of the curriculum it is intended to replace.  Data are used for purposes of accountability, advancement, and decisions about the continuation of the program or service.

Some evaluations can serve both purposes, but, as in the case of student ratings of faculty and courses, distinctions are made between those data which are used summatively and those which are used formatively.

Levels of assessment, who will use it:

• Unit planning and improvement.
• Campus decision making. (E.g. Vision 2020)
• External accountability. (E.g. SACS, legislature)

Dimensions of assessment, what outcomes are assessed:

• Knowledge Outcomes
• Core content and modes of inquiry
• experimental inquiry- verification through empirical observation
• historical inquiry - verification through evaluation of textual materials
• technological inquiry - verification of principles through application in concrete situations
• esthetic inquiry - evaluation of truth through formalistic and interpretive processes
• Major or discipline content
• broad history of the field
• current and classic core questions
• awareness of subfields and targets of inquiry
• knowledge of methods and techniques
• Skills Outcomes - not what a student knows, but what he or she can actually do.
• Basic skills including reading comprehension, writing, and computation
• Higher order cognitive skills such as critical thinking and problem solving
• Knowledge building skills such as library and computer use
• Skills required for effective practice in particular occupations or professions
• Attitudes and Values
• Tolerance of diversity and recognition of the value and contributions of other cultures
• Personal values and identity
• Social values - responsibility, empathy, ability to compromise
• Persistence, motivation, task consciousness
• Behavioral Outcomes.
• Enrolled students
• persistence and choice of major
• course selection and completion
• Former students
• occupational information such as employer, job title, employment history, salary levels, required skills
• further eduational history such as institutions attended and degrees awarded
• professional activities such as membership and participation in professional societies, contributions to profession
• contributions to community and society such as voluntary membership and participation, voting and political participation.

Types of assessment, what questions are being asked:

• Descriptive — describe the way things are.  E.g. How well do students write?  How many students go on to graduate school?
• Relational — examine the relationships between two or more factors.  e.g. Do graduation rates differ by ethnicity?
• Causal — derive strong inferences about the eficacy of a treatment.  E.g. Can teaching assistants be trained to be more effective teachers?

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